


College Thanksgiving

by lilnaugrim



Series: College [6]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, M/M, Thanksgiving Dinner
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-09
Updated: 2016-05-09
Packaged: 2018-06-07 09:37:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,438
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6798640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilnaugrim/pseuds/lilnaugrim
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve had invited Tony to Thanksgiving at his house with his Nana, Tony accepts his first Thanksgiving Dinner. Steve's Nana surprises Steve by telling him she's been seeing someone! Steve isn't happy about it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	College Thanksgiving

Tony woke up feeling jittery and excited, today was the big day! It was Thanksgiving morning and he was up before the sun was even thinking about rising. He was so excited that he wasn't even sleepy anymore; he looked over at his alarm clock which read five thirty in the morning. He groaned to himself, as excited as he was, he did want to sleep.

"Tony," Steve groaned, "stop moving," he mumbled incoherently, his arms were still wrapped around Tony, cuddled up to his back. 

"Sorry," Tony whispered back and tried to stay as still as he could, although Steve's breathing down his neck was a little annoying, he was happy for the warmth and just the feeling in general. He tried to focus on the warmth and the good feelings coming from Steve who nuzzled his nose into Tony's neck and sighed before settling again. Tony smiled to himself and bit his lip, he'd never felt so good about sharing a bed before. Sure, Steve was a bit of a bed hog at times, he just loved the feeling of something larger than him surrounding him, protecting him from anything and everything. It made Tony's heart flutter and dance inside his chest; so much so that he put a hand over the scars to make sure it wasn't going to hop out of his chest any time soon. He tried to sleep again, closing his eyes but it didn't help too much. He eventually did sleep but it wasn't long before the alarm was blaring in his ear.

"Off…turn it…off," Steve mumbled and whined, almost slobbering on Tony who winced as he pulled away gently to turn the alarm off and wake the sleepy Steve.

"Come on babe, time to get up," Tony turned back to caress his face and gently wake him. Steve's eyes fluttered open but they were dilated and not in focus, Tony continued his pettings until they were more focused and less dilated and Steve took in a deep breath. "Good morning," Tony smiled at him and Steve huffed a smile at him as he rolled onto his back with his arm over his face. "No, no, get up!" Tony poked him and tried to pull the arm away as he bounced on the bed and pulled the blanket's down. Steve curled up in a shiver when the colder air hit him and he groaned.

"Half an hour more," Steve turned on his side to face away from Tony but Tony just crawled up over him to lift up one of Steve's eyelids and peered into his eye.

"No! Up now!" Tony said, Steve jerked away and blinked his eyes to wet them again and get away from Tony's face who was a little too close for his liking.

"Tony!" Steve said firmly but Tony stood his ground, half draped over Steve.

"Steve, its Thanksgiving!" Tony exclaimed and nearly was thrown off the bed as Steve sat up quickly. Tony giggled when he landed on Steve's lap looking up at him. "Good morning to you too," Tony smiled.

"I—“ Steve went to say something but forgot what as he looked to Tony with an arched eyebrow, “good morning…you're awake," Steve said astounded.

"It's Thanksgiving!" Tony said again and Steve smiled as he wiped the sleep from his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah it is," Steve smiled down at him and gently ran his fingers through Tony's hair who smiled and closed his eyes at the touch. Steve was careful of the still bruised area on his head and sighed when he thought about it. Tony opened his eyes to look up at Steve and then sit up to scoot closer and look at him, threatening a kiss but not going in.

"Stop thinking about it," Tony told him which made Steve blush a little and look away, "I'm serious, it wasn't your fault and there was nothing you could do to stop it," Tony slipped back onto his lap and made Steve look at him.

"I could have made you stay home," Steve replied quietly, Tony shook his head and hugged him; holding him close with his head on Steve's shoulder.

"We both know I'm too stubborn for that," Tony kissed his neck and sighed as he squeezed Steve to hopefully get his message though. Steve huffed but smiled all the same. "Come on, shower time," Tony bounced out of bed but regretted it when his head hurt a little more than he wanted it to. Steve slowly followed, yawning and still wiping his eyes in hopes to wake up. 

Since the injury, Steve had been helping Tony wash his hair in the shower. Steve didn’t share the shower, but reached in to aid him. Tony always insisted that he join him but Steve politely refused each time. Tony pulled him in the bathroom and shut the door, setting the shower on as he ran to the closet to grab a towel and sling it over the shower rod, opposite the spray as Steve stood there and watched. Steve chuckled and shook his head as he watched his excited boyfriend who heard the chuckle and stopped to look at him and wink. Tony quickly shed his night shirt and looked up at Steve expectantly; Steve shuffled towards the shower to check the temp. Tony shed his boxers and went up to hug Steve from behind.

"You're tense, why?" Tony asked, his big teddy bear was never stressed. Steve lifted and arm to look back at Tony, turning in his arms to hug Tony back.

"I…I'm just a little nervous," Steve admitted as he helped Tony into the shower.

"Why?"

"It's been a long time since I've had anyone for Thanksgiving," Steve said as he reached to grab for the shampoo as Tony leaned back to wet his hair.

"I promise not to make a fool of myself or you, boy scouts honor!" Tony held the three fingers up in the sign and Steve smiled to shake his head.

"You were never a boy scout Tony."

"I could have been, you'd never know." Steve arched an eyebrow. "Okay I wasn't, but still, I give you my word as a Stark," Tony replied as Steve lathered the shampoo gently in his hair.

"I know you won't, but it doesn't help much unfortunately. Remember that girl who left me frozen? She was the last one I had taken to a holiday gathering, it wasn't Thanksgiving but Christmas and well…she just wasn't very nice to my Nana and I don't like that—"

"How can someone not be nice to a little old lady? Your Nana included!!" Tony was shocked, Steve gently directed him under the spray to wash his hair out.

"It was just the way she was," Steve shrugged, pulling him up again when all the shampoo was out.

"I swear to you I won't be like her, I promise on the grave of my parents," Tony told him sincerely and Steve just gave a little smile.

"I know," Steve was going to leave him but Tony flicked water at him and made him frown at the water spots on his shirt. “You’re mean,” Steve pulled the shower curtain shut to block him out.

"I know,” he could hear Tony’s grin. Steve waited for him to finish before he shooed Tony out so he could also shower. It only took Steve a few minutes to clean himself up and he was out, towel drying himself and then dressing before he joined his boyfriend in the bedroom.

"Come on, we've still got to drive there in a timely fashion," Steve said when Tony was sitting on the bed after trying to tie his shoes.

"I'm a Stark, I always arrive in a timely fashion," Tony winked at him and asked Steve to help him with the untied shoe. Steve knelt down and tied the shoe for him, hurriedly rushing them about to get out of the house. 

It wasn't long before the pair was hitting the road in Tony's car. The built in GPS already had Steve's home address in it as they started off on the forty minute drive towards the outskirts of the city. It wasn't a terribly long drive but with the traffic, it turned the forty minute drive into an hour and a half. Steve was starting to feel frustrated by the time they were out of the city and hit some more traffic.

"It's alright babe, we still have the entire day," Tony tried to calm him down, rubbing his leg in hopes it would help.

"I know, I just—I've always hated traffic so it just doesn't help is all. I really can't wait to be home," Steve said, looking down at his lap and Tony's hand. Steve put his hand over Tony's who then turned his hand up to clasp Steve's and hold it.

"We'll be there soon," Tony said quietly, not knowing what else he could say. The rest of the ride was fairly silent, Tony turned the radio on to play some Christmas music, he figured Steve would like the Christmas tunes. He did catch Steve mouthing the words as he looked out the window away from Tony, but Tony smiled to himself as they continued to hold hands in the stop and go traffic. Tony moved his thumb against Steve's pointer finger to caress it, just something to do as they waited more or less patiently.

Not too much time later and the duo was entering into Steve's neighborhood. Tony could feel how much Steve lightened at the sight of the houses with Christmas lights already on them. A giant inflatable turkey was outside one of them; Tony chuckled at that one and continued until Steve told him to pull into a driveway of what looked like an older house. Tony would guestimate it was built around the 1900's and was still in great shape. The white picket fence out in the front yard made him grin as they got out; there was a light dusting of snow on everything. Tony breathed out a stream of hot air and watched the misted breath dissipate in the air as he turned his head to see Steve coming around the car, smiling which was what Tony liked to see. 

"I like it," Tony said, referring to the old house, picketed yard and a lovely open backyard from what he could see.

"Thanks, I spent most of my childhood here, even when my parents were alive," Steve sighed contently as he looked around, standing next to Tony to take his hand again. "Well come on, Nana doesn't like it when I'm late," Steve pulled him along; Tony grinned and followed at his side like a puppy. Tony also used him as a heater in the colder air as they walked up to the front porch and then inside.

"Steven!" a cute little old lady voice almost scared Tony, he hadn't expected her to be right there waiting for him. "Oh and this must be Anthony! So glad to meet you!" she quickly came up to hug him, Tony was a little confused on what was going on but quickly hugged back to be polite. When she pulled away he finally saw that she was just a little shorter than him, salt and pepper hair but otherwise didn't look a day over 55. He was shocked at how fit she looked but then again, this was Steve's grandmother and it all sort of made sense. He quickly managed a smile before she was attacking Steve with a hug.

"Hi Nana," Steve chuckled as he bent down to hug her tightly. 

"I swear you've grown again! You need to stop going to the gym and start eating more of my homemade truffles!" she exclaimed happily and the pair just laughed as if it was an old inside joke, which Tony wouldn't doubt that it wasn't.

"So yes, this is Tony, Tony this is my Nana," Steve introduced when they let go. Tony automatically stuck his hand out to shake it, and then felt silly afterwards since she had just given him a hug. She shook it all the same which made him feel a little better.

"It's so lovely to finally meet you Anthony—"

"Um, Tony please," Tony winced a little, only Jarvis was allowed to call him by his full name.

"Steven has told me so much about you the past two months," she said as she started to bustle around the open kitchen, already baking Tony noted. Tony just chuckled and smirked up at Steve who rolled his eyes and blushed. 

"So what are we making this year?" Steve entered into the kitchen and motioned for Tony to tag along when he didn't follow right away.

"Oh just the usual, I do have a new recipe I've been itching to try out. It's for a cheese raspberry Danish that looked absolutely delightful!" she went over to the counter where there were signs of pie crust rolling where flour still marked the counter top and her apron. Tony looked down at his clothes to see that she had gotten flour on him too when she hugged him. He gave a small smile to himself as he dusted his clothes off and tried to pay attention. 

"What's the 'usual'?" Tony asked, looking up to Steve.

"All sorts of cookies, pies, other Danishes, cheesecakes, truffles, chocolate dipped fruit, cakes sometimes, pudding, gingerbread, um, oh yeah turtle truffle squares, apple chocolate chip squares—"

"Okay, okay, you can stop! I'm getting hungry from just listening to you!" Tony exclaimed and Steve laughed.

"Oh, here, try this and tell me what you think," Steve's Nana went over to a cooling rack to get what looked like two red velvet brownies topped with something white. She handed them each one and they both took a bite. Tony wasn't mentally prepared for the flavor explosion in his mouth and his face reflected the joy that his taste buds were feeling, a whole new euphoria that he hoped to visit once more. He took another bite as he swallowed the first.

"Holy—" he stopped the curse at the tip of his tongue when Steve gave him a sharp look. Steve had warned him about swearing in front of his grandmother; she didn't take kind to anyone doing it and wasn't afraid to use the soap. "—mackerel! These are amazing! Are they red velvet?" Tony asked and she nodded with a bright smile on her face that looked a lot like Steve's smile when he was absolutely ecstatic about something. It was a smile that made him smile too.

"Yes they are, Red Velvet Brownies but with my own special twist to them," she said and went back around to continue kneading at some dough she had in a pan. 

"Wow," was all Tony could say without swearing as he finished off the brownie greedily and looked up at Steve who only ate half of his, seemingly savoring it. Steve looked at Tony when he noticed Tony looking at his half brownie. Steve grinned knowing that Tony wanted it but wouldn't ask. He took another bite of the edge and held the rest of it to Tony's mouth who smiled and ate it happily as he hugged his boyfriend. Steve chuckled quietly and kept his arm around Tony's shoulder, his Nana looking back to grin at them.

"Well let's get to work then! Steve you know the deal, get on beating those cookie batters for me and Tony, you can help me lay out this pie crust for Pinwheels," she directed them and they quickly set to work.   
Tony was clearly not good at the baking thing and Nana pointed it out many times but she happily helped him along as Steve chuckled from the other side of the kitchen with his cookie mixes. Tony was quickly complaining by lunch time, he'd broken two piecrusts and nearly splattered all the eggs on the floor had Steve's Nana not caught them in time. He was frustrated and his head hurt from all the activity. 

"I think it's time to take a little break, how about it Mister Stark?" she grinned and he could not have been happier when she said that. He could see Steve moving towards him from behind as he felt a little more excited than he probably should have been and started to feel faint.

"Whoa there, maybe we should sit down for a little bit," Steve caught him in time when Tony felt his legs give out, he'd never been happier that Steve was there for him too. Tony nodded, now feeling a little out of breath as Steve and his Nana aided him to the living room couch.

"I'm sorry dear," she told him and looked up at Steve, "we could have taken a break earlier, you should have told me he had a head injury," she told Steve firmly and quietly, so quietly that Tony could barely hear it himself. He happily laid down on the couch on his left side to alleviate the pain from his right side. He hadn't realized that he'd fallen asleep until Steve was shaking him awake an hour later. Tony didn't want to wake up though; he was so sleepy after that episode.

"Come on Tony, you need to get up," Steve told him gently, caressing his face. Tony sighed and figured he should at least listen to him while they were here; he opened his heavy eyes to look at Steve who had a mixture of worry and happiness in his expression.

"I dun wanna," Tony slurred and closed his eyes again. 

"Fine, I can bring you up to my room if you want to sleep more but people are going to start showing up soon," Steve told him, still caressing Tony's face.

"Sleep," Tony opted for, not feeling very good.

"Alright, come on," Steve got up to try to help him up. Steve sat at the edge of the couch to pull Tony up to him. Tony quickly cuddled to Steve's shoulder and continued to sit there. "Tony," Steve chuckled and rubbed at his back and kissed his ear gentle. "Come on, up," Steve patted him and stood up; Tony whined at the loss of heat and reached for him like a child. Steve pulled him up, getting slightly impatient with him. Tony finally stood up with help, he was still a little wobbly and clung to Steve tightly as he directed them up the stairs and down the hall which he figured was right above the kitchen as they entered a small room. Tony wanted to appreciate the entirety of the room that was full of Steve things but he was too sleepy. As soon as his head was gently laid on the pillow by Steve, he was out again like a light.

Tony noticed it was getting dark out when he woke up again, he felt terrible that he'd slept through half of the day but he still felt like crud.  
"Fudge muffin," Tony groaned the words which replaced his swears. He sat up slowly and noticed the fresh glass of water on the side table that had a note on it; drink this when you wake up –SR, Tony smiled and took the glass of water, not wanting to upset Steve further. He felt the liquid deep in his body and it felt good, made his head feel clearer too which he was grateful for. He sighed when he finished the clear liquid and placed the cup back in its original spot. He then took that time to look around the room, the walls painted blue as was most of the room with hints of red. It was extremely organized, even if Tony wasn't living at home, his room at home was pretty messy but he wasn't shocked that Steve kept his room clean. He noticed the guitar in the far corner and grinned thinking about Steve playing it. He then noticed that the bed covers were the American flag and he couldn't help the snort laugh; he covered his mouth in case there were guests downstairs. Speaking of downstairs, Tony slowly slipped off the bed to stand up.

Tony followed the wonderful, delicious smells of baking to the kitchen where he found Steve taking some cakes out of the oven and his Nana busily sorting cookies and brownies on different platters. Tony smiled as he leaned against the door frame; Nana was the first to notice him.

"You're looking a lot better, I'm sorry I worked you too hard," she said to him, "sometimes I don't realize what I'm doing before it's too late. If you ever don't feel good, you make sure and tell me, alright?" she asked, also looking a little worried.

"It's okay, it wasn't your fault," Tony told her, nodding as he looked back at Steve who was now looking over his shoulder as he took a different batch of pastry out of the oven. Tony walked over to Steve, making careful he wasn't near the oven in case something else happened. Steve finished putting the pastry on the wire cooling rack before dusting his hands to give Tony a hug and kiss on the cheek. "I'm sorry," Tony told him quietly.

"It's not your fault you aren't feeling good," Steve told him, equally as quiet.

"No, for sleeping so much," Tony told him, holding him too.

"As I said, not your fault," Steve smiled and pecked his lips.

"I wish I had your calm and collected mind," Tony chuckled at him.

"You do!" Steve grinned and Tony rolled his eyes.

"That's not what I—oh forget it," he said still smiling. Tony looked around, the duo had produced quite a bit of desserts in only two hours, and it quite amazed Tony. "How did you—" he cut himself off knowing how they did it but still couldn't believe it, he looked back up to Steve who was looking rather shy.

"When we get into the flow of things, it sort of just happens," Steve shrugged and smiled, Tony remembered that he shouldn't gape at things and closed his open mouth. Steve leaned over to kiss him again; he couldn't stand how adorable Tony was.

"Oh, honey," Nana turned to face them, Steve looked up from Tony's lips to break away from him. Tony leaned against the counter, feeling a little dizzy again.

"Yeah?" Steve answered.

"I didn't want to tell you before since I knew you wouldn't take too kindly to it but…I'm seeing someone," she said, Tony could feel how stiff Steve turned.

"That's…great Nana," Steve said, trying to keep his composure.

"Oh I'd knew you'd be upset—"

"No! Really, I'm not, it's just…surprising is all, but really Nana I'm happy for you!" Steve went to her to hug her in hopes it would convince her.

"He's coming tonight and I want you to meet him, he's a good man," she told him firmly and he nodded. "Alright," she said, cupping his face to pat it gently as she looked up at him. "You've grown up so much this semester," she smiled and he tried to give a heartfelt one back but she pulled him in to kiss his cheek and let go. "Oh it's almost show time! Hurry, we've got to frost those cakes and finish these platters before everyone arrives!" she exclaimed when she looked at the clock. "Tony can I trust you with frosting?"

"Oh don't trust him with any frosting, he'll just eat it," Steve said, grinning back at Tony who stuck his tongue out at him.

"I would not! At least not here," Tony said in his defense and chuckled as Steve fished the frosting out of the fridge.

"Here, cut this pound cake into slices," Steve pushed the cake, cutting board and knife towards him. Tony turned slowly in his spot to do as he was told, that was until Steve was coming towards him. "Open," Steve said quietly, making sure his Nana wasn't watching as he slipped a finger in Tony's mouth that had a big glob of chocolate frosting on it. Tony immediately went to town on it, sucking and licking it all off which made Steve blush deeply. Tony let the finger slip out of his mouth to savor the taste of frosting and wink at Steve who quickly went back to frosting his own cake. Tony grinned to himself as he continued to cut the cake and suck on his frosting.

The Christmas tunes echoed through the house as they finished preparing the plethora of food, the turkey had been sitting in another oven, Tony was surprised when he found out there were two ovens but it all made sense. It was then that a huge wave of people started to enter into the house. Tony could barely keep up with it all as he was introduced to person after person, shaking their hands and smiling like he was used to doing at events. He was able to remember a few of their names but the majority of them just sort of went in one ear and out the other.

On top of all the food they had made the neighbors also brought more food, Tony was pretty sure they were all going to burst with the amount of food that was in the house. It became a buffet styled dinner; Tony went through the line but not without Steve at his side as they both filled their plates with the delicious looking food. There were candied yams, cranberry sauce, apple sauce, acorn squash mixed with apple sauce, carrots and turnip mashed together which turned out to be one of his favorites of the dinner portion. Tony was thankful when they were able to sit down on the couch, everyone was scattered everywhere but the house was mostly open so they were all still able to talk to each other and have a good time. Tony ate silently as he listened which was something he rarely did, normally it was the opposite and there was an alcoholic beverage in his hand. He watched as Steve talked with a woman that looked like she could be his mother's age. He listened to the conversation about art but only understanding half of it, he figured out that the woman was also an artist. She happened to own her own studio and they talked about her art sales and how she became more accomplished and how Steve could continue with his degree. 

"You seem awful quiet," Tony was startled at the voice on his other side; he looked over to see it was just Steve's Nana.

"Oh, I'm just enjoying myself," he told her truthfully and smiled; she smiled back and nodded before looking around to find her next victim to talk to. He smiled as he watched everyone and finished off his plate feeling stuffed but knew there was still dessert to go through.

"Maggie!" a voice entered the room that Tony knew all too well, he immediately looked up at the man.

"Coulson!?" Tony exclaimed, Steve stopped talking to look up at the man as well as his Nana walked up to give the man a hug and kiss.

"Mr. Stark! I didn't expect you to be here, it's been a while, huh?" the man dressed in a suit still looked down at them.

"Yeah, it's been a while…" Tony partially glared at him.

"You two know each other?" Nana asked them, still holding him.

"I was assigned to the Stark's a while back to protect them," Coulson explained to her, "and you must be Steven, it's very good to meet you," Coulson went around to properly shake Steve's hand, still confused on what was going on.

"And you," Steve said politely.

"Your grandmother has told me quite a bit about you so it's an honor to finally meet you," Coulson smiled at him and Steve just nodded to him awkwardly.

"Come here Phil, I want you to meet some other people too," she took his away, seeing Steve's emotions roll and toil within him. Tony watched as Steve set his plate down on the coffee table and got up to exit the living room. Tony quickly finished the last bite of his mashed potatoes and set his own plate down to follow his boyfriend. Tony quickly grabbed his coat the door when Steve promptly stepped outside without his own jacket but he was well padded in muscle. Tony followed him out into the chilly evening and quickly hugged him at the end of the porch to make him stop moving.

"You can't run away you know," Tony held him fast.

"I know," Steve said small, Tony didn't like the tone his voice had taken on and squeezed him harder. "I'm just…I just fear for her…it was awful when grandpa passed. The kind of guy's she dated…they…they were abusive just like my father and I couldn't—I couldn't bear to think of that happening again," Steve said, bowing his head. 

"Steve, I know Phil, he's definitely not that kind of guy. He saved me once you know, granted I probably could have taken the guy out myself but yeah, he saved me and I know he would never hurt your Nana, not in a million-trillion years," Tony told him, "I know that's not going to change how you feel right now but I just want you to give him a chance. You don't even have to talk to him, just pretend you're okay for the night and then we can cuddle tonight and do whatever," Tony turned him to place his hands on either side of Steve's neck, his thumb gently rubbing where it sat on his neck. Tony looked into his eyes but Steve closed his to hang his head a little and sigh. "Can you do that? At least for me? Hell knows I feel like shit enough, we don't need you feeling bad too."

"Yeah," Steve nodded quietly.

"Good, now kiss me while we're out here," Tony demanded which got him a little smirk from Steve as he bent down to kiss him. Tony was extremely happy for the warmth that came crashing onto him when Steve fully wrapped his arms around him to pull him close as they made out on the porch. Tony tilted his head to get a better purchase on Steve's lips and sighed into the kiss. He tried to not let Steve's hot lips turn him on so much but it was difficult when your boyfriend was Steve. Tony threaded his fingers up through Steve's hair to mess it up a little and to cradle the back of his neck and then slung his arms all the way around Steve's shoulders to hang on him. Tony tilted his head further to try to lick Steve's mouth open further but Steve just pulled away.

"Stop. We can't," Steve whispered, eyes still closed. Tony kissed his lips once more and pulled at Steve's lower lip until it slipped out of his own lips. 

"I love you," Tony told him, hovering close to his lips but just to the side. Tony kissed his cheek and then just pulled down to hug him tightly.

"I love you too," Steve said into Tony's shoulder.

"Come on, we can do this, deep breath first," Tony said stepping away to give Steve some space. They did a deep breath together and Steve had to smile at him, he was certainly thankful to have him around.

"Okay," Steve nodded and they soon entered back into the warm house. Tony shed his jacket and the pair went over to the desserts which were being delved into quickly.

Tony felt so stuffed that he literally felt like he was going to explode, he was cuddled into Steve on the couch they had claimed and was partially sleeping in a food coma. The loud noises of the people lulled him into a deep sleep and the warmth of Steve surrounded him. He dreamed of lots of people singing, their voices sounded angelic in his mind and it calmed him further into euphoria. He swore that he was in heaven as he looked around in his dream, it was all white and fluffy, and Steve wasn't there though so he knew it wasn't heaven, just a dream land.

Tony woke himself up, frustrated for sleeping on Steve again. He wanted to experience Steve's Thanksgiving as a whole, not sleep the entire time! He dragged himself out of dreamland to feel Steve vibrating, he furrowed his brow and just realized that Steve was singing and his voice was resonating through Tony. Tony smiled when he heard everyone singing Christmas carols and someone at the piano accompanying them all. When he was able to open his eye's he saw Nana was the piano and everyone else singing happily in the living room. They were all squished in the room, many just standing with what looked like glasses of eggnog and coffee. Tony looked up at Steve who instantly blushed and started to sing softer.

"Don't," Tony said quietly, scooting up to get closer and actually sit up. Steve just gave a shy smile back as he continued to sing "Hark! The Harold Angels Sing" with everyone else. Tony had never sung Christmas carols before and so thus didn't know the words but he still hummed the melody having heard it before. He looked around to all the cheerful faces and smiled before gently rubbing his head affectionately against Steve's shoulder like a cat before resting it there.

"You had to wake up just as we were singing, hm?" Steve chuckled at him when they were done with that song.

"Your angelic voice woke me up," Tony grinned at him, picking his head up to kiss his cheek.

"I definitely do not have an angelic voice," Steve snorted at him.

"Oh but you do! Seriously, you sing really good!" Tony exclaimed to him.

"—very well," Steve corrected his grammar but Tony just rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, you still sound amazing to me, I like to hear you sing," Tony said as he resumed his head rubbing on Steve's should but this time just let his head sit there as they started the next song after some debate on which they wanted to do. The next song they chose was "Silent Night" and Tony got chills when Steve began to sing quietly but progressively got more confident when Tony wasn't looking directly at him. Tony pulled his leg up so he had his left leg underneath him and was able to sling an arm around Steve's middle to hug him. Tony loved how solid Steve felt under him; it was a nice grounded feeling that it gave him, not something he often had.

"Thank you everyone for making this a Thanksgiving to remember! I know this is just a tradition but it's a tradition well worth it!" About an hour later Steve's nana had gotten up to make her speech after they had finish caroling around the house. 

"It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without our annual Bash at the Rogers!" one other woman exclaimed in reply as nana absolutely beamed at them with her smile, it was contagious too. Tony found himself smiling as they were standing now to let some elder people have the couch. Tony was still clinging to Steve for his extra warmth and just the all-around good feeling. And at the reply of the woman everyone agreed, nodding and smiling.

"A toast!" a man shouted over them, "to Mrs. Rogers and her grandson who make this possible for us every single year! May we all be thankful and humble on this Thanksgiving night and may Maggie ever bake wonderful desserts for us!" he also exclaimed, getting quite the laughter from his speech. "To the Rogers and to Thanksgiving! Cheers everyone!" he raised his glass of eggnog which was almost gone anyway.

"Cheers!" everyone replied, raising their glasses as well in the toast. Since Tony nor Steve had glasses to raise they just looked at each other before Tony pulled him down in a kiss. Tony could almost feel the blush radiating off of Steve but he liked it and liked knowing that there were people watching because it made Steve his and his only. The kiss didn't last as long as Tony would have liked but it was long enough that he felt drunk off of it and wanted more but knew he couldn't, he almost felt like throwing a temper tantrum until Steve brought him upstairs but he knew that was highly inappropriate…at least at this time it was. So Tony let go of his lips to enjoy the blush that was riddled across Steve's face.

"You are the best thing that's ever happened to me," Tony told him, he felt good once he said it because he actually meant it, another rare thing to happen. He loved how Steve's face lit up at him as well. 

"And you to me," Steve replied, "you know…" Steve started, looking bashful and uncertain of himself again, "before I met you my life was pretty crazy. Art was the only thing that kind of kept me sane, I mean, soccer was great too but it wasn't the same. There were time's that I felt like it was too much and I couldn't find a focus, something to grab on to," Steve continued to speak quietly while everyone else paid no mind them thankfully. "But then, one day you decided to drag your hung-over ass to class and well…that was—it was what I needed, you were what I needed. It—" he stopped himself to take a deep breath, he was vulnerable here and didn't want to say the wrong thing but when he looked at Tony who had his eye's wide and all his attention diverted to him, it let him open the flood gates.

"I'm thankful for everything that's happen to me over the years but you Tony Stark, you were the best thing that's ever happen, you were my saving grace because if we hadn't met that day. I don't think I would be standing here right now," Steve said, it hurt his heart to see the pained look on Tony's face but he knew he had to say it right then and there; it was time. Tony said nothing but quickly brought Steve into a full fledge bear hug. Steve didn't even know that Tony had the strength in him but he was grateful for the feeling as Tony held him tightly, burying their heads into each other's necks and trying not to cry. Steve could feel the wetness fall from Tony's eyes and he lost it himself but made sure to keep it quiet as they held each other tightly. 

"I love you," Tony whispered to him and Steve could feel just how much he meant it. He was used to Tony just blurting things out and they usually didn't mean anything but this was different.

"I love you too Tony," Steve whispered back, "Thanks for being here with me."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world."

The boy's had escaped to the upstairs bathroom for a few moments to regain their composure and just chat a little bit before they went down to join the farewells that most were doing. Steve was going to continue to explain what he really meant by what he'd said earlier, the whole 'not standing here right now' but Tony quieted him and told him to save it for later, they needed to dry up their tears first and then they could cuddle and cry all they wanted when they went to bed. Finally they were set, clothes straightened out, tears swept away and eyes no longer red. They went back down to join the ending party; it was getting close to eleven at night anyway. Some people were going out shopping for the Black Friday sales while others were going home to enjoy the rest of the night and sleep. Some unfortunately had to work as well. Steve said a farewell to everyone he knew which was practically everyone there. Tony stood close by, nodding to them and shaking some hands and occasionally giving hugs to those who prompted it first. Soon, little by little they all trickled out the door leaving the four of them.

"That was a wonderful Thanksgiving party Mrs. Rogers, I really enjoyed it," Tony made sure to tell her when they were cleaning up. Steve silently swept the floor as Coulson cleaned the counters off, also quietly.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it Tony! I also heard it was your first Thanksgiving party," she said and he nodded.

"It's not something…it wasn't something my family did but I like it and it was really nice to be here."

"Oh, and you're part of the family now so you call me nana just like everyone else," she told him, coming around to pull him close and kiss his good temple before going to do the dishes. Tony stood there for a moment before looking up to Steve and smile widely. A family, a real family that actually cared for him and wondered how his day went; it was all a new feeling that made his heart go all jittery again. He turned back to the dessert table to rub at the over excited heart as he bit his lip to try to contain his smile but it didn't help much. He continued to wrap up the platters and dishes that nana had told him to do.

"Steve, can I talk to you for a moment?" Phil asked him when he was done sweeping the floors. Steve looked up at him and then to Tony who nodded.

"Um, sure," Steve shrugged and the two of them went out to the front porch. Tony looked over to nana who was busy at the sink. 

"Do you think Steve will accept him?" she stopped to look back at Tony as she took her hands out of the sink to dry them. Tony went to her side to lean against the counter.

"In time, he's still hurting from everything else that's been going on. I don't know what he's told you or not but he's had a pretty rough semester and he just needs time to adjust to it." Tony nodded to her and she smiled back at him.

"I'm sure he told you about my other partner's way back when," she asked and he nodded. She nodded back and sighed as she looked towards the dishes, deep in thought. "What do you think of Phil?" she looked back up to him.

"Agent Coulson?" Tony asked and then chuckled, "well I've known him for seven years or so, he's a different sort of man. Not afraid to use his Taser gun, that's for sure. He saved me once you know, I don't know if he's told the story or not but it was a long time ago when I was probably stupider than I am now," he snorted and she just smiled, "but in short there was some nasty dealings going down in some alleyway, I was involved but didn't realize the guy was just going to shoot me afterwards. I stood there, helpless and along came Coulson right up behind me, Tased the one guy we needed and shot the other's right over my shoulder." Tony looked down at the laminate flooring as he remembered the rainy day that Coulson saved his retarded ass. "So I know he's a good man, we may not get along like you would hope but he's a good one and I know he would never hurt anyone he actually loved, Steve included," Tony told her and she nodded thankful to him.

"You know the first time Steve called me up about you, he was so confused about you and of course I was shocked; Tony Stark? What do you mean, Tony Stark??" she laughed as she recalled the night, "but as he went on about the marker thing—thank you for that by the way, he truly appreciates it—and then about how the night went and how good he was feeling. I knew that you were going to be the one for him. Rich or not, you're a good boy Tony but the same goes for you, if you hurt him…I won't be afraid to use Phil's Taser," she threatened in the nice grandmotherly way that only she could do. He smiled and nodded to her with a salute.

"Yes ma'am," he replied as Steve and Coulson came back in through the door and out of the cold. They each put their jackets away and looked to the other pair, smiles creeping on their faces. Tony beckoned Steve over of which he followed, Tony pulled him into a hug even though he had no idea what happened between the two out there, he still want to hug his partner. 

"Alright, you two are dismissed, you've helped out enough today," Nana shooed them away and they grinned.

"Thanks nana," Steve broke away from Tony to hug her, "Coulson," Steve shook his hand and Phil smiled at him.

"Night, night!" Tony waved to them as he pulled Steve along; he was excited to get back up to Steve's room. When they were in, Tony closed the door behind them and sighed heavily.

"Are you okay?" Steve asked, noting the sigh as he turned to look at him.

"Yeah, just tired is all. You would think that after sleeping almost four hours through the day I wouldn't be tired anymore!" Tony said, frustrated as he went to sit on Steve's bed.

"Are you ready for bed now?" Steve asked and Tony gave him a sort of sorrowful look.

"Yeah…are you? It's okay if you're not, I can stay up," Told replied, feeling bad.

"I'm pretty beat myself, these kinds of parties always kick me in the rear end when they're done," Steve smiled as he kicked off his shoes and started on his pants. Tony was about to take his shirt off when Steve stopped him, "it gets pretty cold in here so I would leave that on if I were you," Steve told him and Tony nodded, then working on his own pants before swinging around to crawl under the covers. "So what time did you want to wake up in the morning?"

"Are you going out Black Friday Shopping? I heard your nana wanted to so I figured you were going as well," Tony asked as he curled up under the blankets and waited for Steve to undress himself. He turned to watch as Steve shed his pants but left his boxer briefs on as well as his tee shirt and slipped in to bed with Tony.

"There's nothing I really need, usually my gifts are homemade so unless you want to go out…" Steve offered as he laid on his back and ushered Tony to cuddle up against his side.

"Well, considering I'm rich I've never needed to buy things on sale," Tony snorted but then quieted himself as he looked up to Steve who was looking up at the ceiling. Tony pulled himself up so he was propped on his elbow, leaning over Steve's face. "Does that bother you?" he asked.

"Not really, if you were humble, you wouldn't be you and I wouldn't like you the way I like you now," Steve smiled at him and Tony though about it, "good," he said as he smiled and pecked Steve's lips in a kiss before he settled back down again. He could have purred when Steve started to lightly rub at his back, the feeling was almost tickling him but it was just past that edge where it felt good. He shivered as he let his eyes close and focused on the rubbing. 

"So what's your favorite type of art?" Tony asked, they never really had enough dates to ask the simple questions so he figured now was as good of time as any.

"Hmm," Steve said to himself as he thought about it, "I like all sorts of art, I mean, I do mostly charcoal and pencil drawings but I've been getting into some Printmaking and that has been amazing lately. I don't think I showed you my prints; I'll have to do that when we get back. But to look at, I would have to say that painting—specifically oil painting, is amazing to look at. Rembrandt and all the old master’s had such amazing control over their works! My favorite is probably Durer’s oil painting entitled Self Portrait at the Age of 28. The way he sculpts hair in the paint is so luscious and the fur texture! It has to be one of my favorites," Steve nodded with his reply.

"I only understood half of that," Tony chuckled and Steve smiled.

"That's alright, I wouldn't expect you to."

"What does that mean?!" Tony accused as he poked at Steve’s side who giggled.

"It means you're not an art major," Steve told him.

"Mhmm, riiiiggght," Tony said sarcastically and Steve stuck his tongue out at him when he looked down. 

"So what are you writing your thesis on?" Steve asked, putting his free hand up behind his head to prop himself up a little since they were set on talking anyway.

"Something called an arc reactor; basically it's a giant electro-magnet that can power anything and everything. I'm working towards green energy," Tony said and Steve almost couldn't believe it and almost didn't had he not seen Tony's blueprints and little mechanical robots in his room.

"That's amazing; do you think we'll see it in our life time?" Steve asked and Tony scoffed.

"Of course we will!" Tony scoffed, "I've already made like seven of them, the first one was kind of huge but I've been able to miniaturize it over the last year or so. Soon I'll be selling it through Stark Industries and we'll convert the entire world into clean, green energy power! No more pollution!" Tony said excitedly, Steve had only seen him like this a few times before. He'd seen him excited but he had a different kind of spark in his eye, one only a genius could have.

"I have no other words besides amazing," Steve said, still in awe.

"That's okay, you can tell me the rest when you figure out which words you want to use," Tony chuckled which made Steve laugh.

"Oh, you are something else Tony Stark."

"I know." The pair chuckled and let it die down as they each closed their eyes to enjoy each other's heat. They let the conversation lag as sleep started to overcome both of them, Tony took in a deep breath when he felt the need to and let it out slowly. He smiled as Steve's hand continued to make little circles around his back. "I really like that," Tony said, half asleep already.

"Mmm?" Steve partially asked a question but also agreed in his also half sleeping state.

"Yeah," Tony replied anyway softly. Tony could feel the fingers faltering every now and then as Steve drifted off to sleep, Tony didn't want to sleep yet but he allowed himself to finally sleep when the fingers stopped moving completely, he sighed contently before falling asleep.

Tony didn't sleep very well, his dreams kept waking him up; his PTSD was in full blast that night. He woke up in a sweat, breathing heavily as he carefully extrapolated himself from Steve's hold to sit up at the edge of the bed. He tried to remember to breathe as he bent over to rest his elbows on the tops of his legs. He crossed his arms and kept his head bent over as he rocked himself quietly. He tried to stifle his crying but it wasn't working so well, he continued to rock in the dark until Steve started to stir a few moments later.

"Tony?" Steve was still half asleep when he started to wake up, realizing that Tony was no longer in his hold. "Tony? Hey, what's wrong?" Steve quickly got up to tend to his boyfriend, knowing something was wrong when he saw Tony holding himself and rocking. "Hey, it's okay, it's okay. Look at me—Tony, it's okay, you're home at my house with me, you're okay," Steve quickly made Tony look at him to make sure he was actually awake and not still dreaming. It was difficult to see in the dark so Steve quickly leaned over to turn his side table lamp on, he could see Tony's tears now.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Tony told him as he tried to dry his tears as Steve came to sit next to him and pull Tony to him.

"Don't apologize Tony, nightmares aren't your fault," Steve said to him quietly, holding his boyfriend close to him and petting him.

"They aren't nightmares, they are memories," Tony sniffed and tried to subside his tears, feeling weak and incompetent. Steve hugged him closer and rubbed at his back in hopes to help him feel better.

"I'm sorry," Steve whispered and kissed at Tony's neck and sighed. They sat there in the dim light for a few more minutes, Steve holding Tony tight as Tony started to calm down more. "Do you want to talk about it?" Steve pulled away to look at his boyfriend, he observed Tony's tired eyes and reached his hand up to wipe away a stray tear and rest his hand at Tony's neck and jawline to rub his thumb there. Tony sighed and closed his eyes at the touch, relishing in it. "Come, lay down," Steve said quietly as he moved back to his spot and laid down with his arms open. Tony followed and laid half on Steve and cuddled up to him. Steve immediately began to rub at his back again; light touches which made Tony shiver if he focused on it too much.

"It was just the kidnappings when I was a kid, not all of them were nice; there were a few that…well, I didn't lose my virginity by my choice…" Tony said very quietly, Steve felt his heart strings tug at him.

"That's not why you—" Steve went to ask on why Tony had been so promiscuous in his life but couldn't find the words to finish his question, Tony understood though and looked up at him.

"No," Tony smirked, "no, I really do enjoy sex of any type, just not when I'm forced to," Tony shrugged, sighing deeply as he pulled himself up to look into Steve's face. "Don't worry, I'll be alright," he assured him and smiled as he bent down to kiss him gently. 

"Well, since we're in the moment of sharing," Steve sighed as he rubbed at Tony's arm that was draped over him. Tony settled and nodded to signal Steve to continue. "Before I met you I was having a pretty rough semester with grades and financial issues. There didn't seem to be any sort of light at the end of tunnel and I didn't think I could go on. I had this whole elaborate plan that was supposed to go down the day you showed up," Steve said getting misty eyed already as he continued to caress Tony, "I wouldn't be here if you didn't show up that day with the worst hangover," Steve chuckled through tears. Tony was quick to hug Steve and kiss at his neck and jaw.

"I do love you Steve," Tony told him as he pulled away and kissed him on the lips, soft this time and meaningful.

"I love you too," Steve said, sniffled before Tony kissed him again, hand cradling Steve's neck. After a few minutes of touching and kissing the pair settled down. "I'm glad you came here today," Steve whispered as they settled in to sleep again, Tony at his side.

"Yeah, me too," Tony smiled at him as Steve reached over to turn the light out and they cuddled together. "Thanks for inviting me," Tony whispered in the dark. Steve replied by holding him tighter and planting a solid kiss to his forehead out of affection. It was a good holiday, the best Tony had ever seen.


End file.
